Learning, Sharing, and Teaching > Mini Money Mustaches
My PhD is in...DANCE!
jax8:
It's a line from a kids movie... :)
So I'm embracing the frugal lifestyle and realizing that I want out of the rat race. This month I've:
-vowed not to eat out anymore (hot, prepared grocery foods are still legal)
-pledged to meal plan and whittle down the food still in pantry/freezer
-got my husband on board (!!!!!)
-hit $2K in cash savings
-talked husband into upping his 401K contributions to 8%
-decided the 2008 / 105,000 mile Kia is going to go until the wheels fall off (and got husband to agree!)
So far my first month has been amazing!!! Except...
Our girls are going back to dance classes next month. This is our 4th year at the studio, and here's the ugly breakdown:
11 year old - ballet, tap, jazz, ballet technique, pointe
7 year old - ballet, tap, jazz, acro
Total monthly tuition: $281.00 x 9 months = $2,529
New shoes (including pointe shoes, which go quickly and are $80 per pair) - $285.00 + $100 growth = $385.00
Costumes - varies, but last year was $300
Tickets - $15 per seat / 3 shows each year / multiple nights of same show and the kids want us there each night = $90 per audience member
This year they joined Competition and we'll have MORE costumes and a hotel bill for the big spring break competition.
Then we have SUMMER INTENSIVES which I'm not even adding in here because I feel kind of nauseous already.
It's a huge amount of money, but the girls LOVE it, and we are able to afford it. I'd just rather put my money towards savings or debts... Is that selfish?!? I think they learn a lot in dance, about movement and feeling comfortable in their bodies and learning to work with a team and overcoming stage fright... There are lots of benefits. (No, I don't expect either girl to become a ballerina. I actually doubt they will continue past age 14.)
The 11 year old isn't hiding in her room on her Ipod--she's with a teacher she adores and a group of friends that are always there, no matter what's going on in school or which teacher she gets that year. The 7 year old also has a bigger group of friends that she's known since she was 3. It's a nice, stable, supervised place for the kids to go.
I'm really torn over this. I want to give good things to my kids, but I'm looking at $3,000+ per year for the kids' hobby. What would you do?
Kio:
I did theater growing up and learned so SO many important life skills! I think keeping your daughters in dance is a great idea!! You did mention you have debts, though...
What do you think about just scaling back a bit? Maybe not doing competition or letting them each pick 2 genres (eg tap and ballet) to focus on, until the debts are gone?
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I'm a red panda:
Do 7 and 11 year olds really need summer intensives? The studios here those ages mostly stay home and take summer classes. It is only the older girls who go to intensives.
Personally $3,000 for both girls doesn't seem like a huge number to me. I mean, for what I spent on dance, that is a teeny tiny little number. How many classes a week/days a week do your girls take? Do you know what you are getting into in future years if you keep it up?
But if your debt is huge, I agree with the advice to not take so many disciplines. What are the girls goals? If it's something like musical theater- do they need pointe? If it is ballet- do they need tap and acro? If it is cheer- do they need pointe (or even ballet) and tap? If it's just have fun- pick the two they like most, don't do as many classes.
mxt0133:
--- Quote from: jax8 on August 16, 2017, 09:38:41 AM ---I'm really torn over this. I want to give good things to my kids, but I'm looking at $3,000+ per year for the kids' hobby. What would you do?
--- End quote ---
Increase your income or cut out another expense that is lower in priority. "You can have what you want but you can't have everything you want", is the quote the comes to mind.
Are you saving for college? What about vacation budget?
For the 11 year old, I would have her put some skin in the game. Have her do fundraisers or get a part-time job. I once hired a 12 year old to do balloons and face painting for my son's party for $30 an hour, she had a business card and her own equipment. That way you will know how committed she is and hopefully start teaching her that he will have to work for things that she wants and that mommy and daddy will not always be footing the bill.
jax8:
Right now we're only saving for retirement and building our emergency fund (10% of our income, which I was patting myself on my back for pre-reading MMM). Zero college savings, zero vacation savings. Income = $104,000 gross
Debts are:
Braces / $800 left / 0% rate ($109 payment)
Car / $2,000 left / 1.75% rate ($250 payment)
Student Loan / $62,000 left / 3.75% rate ($420 payment <---$50 extra goes here)
House / $97,000 left / 5.5% rate ($1,100 payment <---$110 extra goes here)
Grandparents are daycare in summer for $375 per month and before/after school care for $250 per month the rest of the year. I figured we could afford dance since we weren't sinking $$$ in childcare like other families. (Doing better than the Joneses?)
The core clump is tap/ballet/jazz. At this studio, if you take one, you take them all because they are all back to back. Saturdays from 10 am - 1 pm. Both girls have Saturday classes, so Husband and I can have date mornings, grocery shop, etc. during that time period. It's kind of awesome.
11 year old also has Thursday night ballet / pointe. So (this year) we'll be at the studio 2 days per week. Last year it was 3 days. 11 year old loves ballet, but says she's not sure she'll stick with it next year (2018-2019). She's interested in joining the 7th grade track team next year, or swim team. I'm praying these school teams will be cheaper!
I'm glad to hear that our prices don't seem insane--but that shocks me! The 11 year old already scaled back and happily dropped Modern, Hip Hop and Acro. She wasn't interested in them and ASKED to drop them. She also has her own dog walking business, but she spends that money on clothes and Christmas gifts. I don't ask her to pay for dance.
7 year old will only get more expensive as she gets older. My theory is that as 11 year old moves into teenage years and drops dance, our youngest will absorb the savings.
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